Carter Rowney‘s goal 1:09 into overtime last night gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 3-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 against the Providence Bruins tonight… It was the first career playoff OT goal for Rowney, who ranked second in the AHL with three overtime winners during the 2015-16 regular season… Rowney and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and an assist on the night for the Penguins, and Dustin Jeffrey scored the 15th goal of his AHL postseason career… Casey DeSmith made 31 saves to pick up the win in his AHL postseason debut, and he now has stopped 60 of 64 Bruins shots in two starts over the past week… Seth Griffith and Colby Cave scored for the Bruins, who rallied from a two-goal deficit to force overtime… Cave’s goal came shorthanded with 11:16 left in regulation; the teams have now combined for four SHG while going 57-for-59 on the penalty kill between them (96.6 percent) in seven meetings this season… Max Talbot recorded an assist in Game 1 for Providence, his first Calder Cup Playoff appearance since 2006 when he was with Wilkes-Barre… Jeremy Smith stopped 24 of 27 shots but fell to 2-5 in playoff OT games… The Penguins improved to 26-21 all-time in playoff OT games, and are now 17-3 in their last 20 first-round playoff games.

In their first playoff game in nearly five years, the Lake Erie Monsters rolled to a 5-2 win over the Rockford IceHogs in last night’s opener of their Central Division semifinal… It was the Monsters’ first regulation win in their last 13 tries at the BMO Harris Bank Center… Alex Broadhurst notched a goal and two assists for Lake Erie, Zach Werenski and Dean Kukan had a goal and an assist each, and Oliver Bjorkstrand and Michael Chaput notched two helpers apiece as the Monsters won their first postseason contest as the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top affiliate — and notched the franchise’s first playoff victory since Apr. 21, 2011… Joonas Korpisalo made 28 saves for Lake Erie, taking a shutout bid into the final six minutes before Tyler Motte and Dennis Rasmussen scored late in the third… Mac Carruth stopped 21 shots in his first career Calder Cup Playoff start… Lake Erie is now 10-1-1-0 in its last 12 games.

The Pacific Division semifinals get underway tonight with Game 1 between San Diego and Texas at Cedar Park Center… The Gulls owned the best record in the AHL after the All-Star break, going 20-5-3-1 (.759) including 9-1-1-1 in their last 12 away from home… San Diego’s Brandon Montour (12-45-57) finished third among AHL rookies and second among AHL defensemen in scoring in 2015-16… Gulls forward Nick Ritchie (16-14-30) and his older brother, Stars forward Brett Ritchie (14-14-28), both split the season between the AHL and their NHL parent clubs… Texas’s top three scorers — Brendan Ranford (19-40-59), Curtis McKenzie (24-31-55) and Travis Morin (15-39-54) — were all members of the Stars’ Calder Cup championship squad in 2014… Chris Mueller (20-37-57), who tied for San Diego’s team scoring lead, was also part of that Texas title team… The Stars won five of six meetings from the Gulls during the regular season, outscoring San Diego by a 29-15 margin.

Alumni Watch In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, two-time Calder Cup champion Michal Neuvirth made 31 saves, outdueling his former Hershey Bears creasemate Braden Holtby and lifting Philadelphia to a 2-1 win over Washington… The Flyers’ goals were scored by Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald — who were also the starting defensive pair for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on opening night, Oct. 10… Alex Petrovic‘s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal was the game-winner in Florida’s 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders… 2005 AHL MVP Jason Spezza tallied a goal and an assist as Dallas defeated Minnesota, 3-2… Brent Burns had a goal and an assist and former AHL All-Star Martin Jones made 26 saves in San Jose’s 3-2 win over Los Angeles.

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